Pages

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Dressing Downton: Modern Mary

We all want a bit of Downton Abbey in our wardrobes so after posting some inspiration for adding some Downton flavor to your wardrobe, I took up the challenge of working my latest Dressing Downton piece into a modern look.


Tada! I made a rather more reproduction type piece but opted to style it modern.


You can find this costume's Dressing Downton post here.


I paired this skirt with a modern white t-shirt.


It has an almost lace like print (I guess you could call it) that is translucent and a black lace pattern printed on the front. I really wanted to capture the romantic feel of the original outfit.


I ended up making this skirt using a self drafted half circle skirt pattern. There's only one seam which I placed in the back. It closes with snaps and hooks and eyes. I made self fabric covered buttons that are purely decorative.


The back doesn't hang quite as nicely as I'd like but I'm sure Mary has on a slip and petticoat under hers.


Oh and this is so fun to wear! I do need more of these long half circle skirts!


I also envision this with a period blouse or styled as a 40s evening look! They too had long swooshy skirts. And the color is just so yummy!

11 comments:

  1. I love it! The buttons down the back are beautiful and the color is so spring-like!! I'm really enjoying all of your Downton posts x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the buttons! I think the decision to go half-circle skirt was the right one.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I LOVE it! It is great paired down with the tee, and I would love to see how you dress it up as well. I think the teal and the black & white are PERFECT!

    ReplyDelete
  4. this is so cute! i love that color of blue

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have been so bad about commenting on blogs at all lately, but have been following your Downton inspired posts with great interest! :) I just love that you modernized Lady Mary's look--this is so pretty! :) I just adore the skirt color--I bet you're going to get a lot of wear out of it! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, wow!!!! I absolutely LOVE this skirt and love it modernized with the pretty tee. Amazing! The colour is so pretty and I love the buttons down the back. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  7. oh how i love this skirt style and color!! oh i love downton. and you of course. hehehe :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is wonderful. It's a great skirt and it's working really well the way you have it styled.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh man, do I love that skirt. The color and the buttons and EVERYTHING. To get the drape of that period, you have to mess around with grain lines...I have a photocopy of a chapter written on it from a book written by a woman I worked for (phew, that was long). I *think* it was that you have the front on the bias and the back pieces cut on the grain - or maybe it was the opposite. My 70s skirt ( http://vintageorbust.blogspot.com/2011/09/sw-skipping-school.html ) I made is cut that way because I was limited on fabric and the front hangs mostly flat and all the drapey folds shift to the back. You can't tell in my photos because it was windy.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your skirt is beautiful!! I love the color and the detail at the back. I think it looks great with a modern top, too.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh, wow, you did a great job re-creating this skirt! I will definitely have to do that when I get my blouse made. Lovely!

    ReplyDelete